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I have a hard time understanding who exactly cooking anime appeal to and how cooking became a genre.

Here's a list of cooking anime:

1987, Mister Ajikko
1997, Chuuka Ichiban
2004, Yakitate!! Japan
2008, Seiyou Kottou Yougashiten: Antique
2009, Cookin' Idol Ai! Mai! Main!
2009, Yume-iro Pâtissière
2015, Shokugeki no Souma
2016, Shokugeki no Souma: Ni no Sara
2017, Shokugeki no Souma: San no Sara
2017, Isekai Shokudou
2017, Emiya-san Chi no Kyou no Gohan
2018, Shokugeki no Souma: San no Sara - Tootsuki Ressha-hen
2018, Isekai Izakaya: Koto Aitheria no Izakaya Nobu
2019, Shokugeki no Souma: Shin no Sara
2019, Shin Chuuka Ichiban!
2020, Shokugeki no Souma: Gou no Sara
2021, Shin Chuuka Ichiban!
2021, Isekai Shokudou 2

Shokugeki no Souma alone has already six seasons and they even resurrected the 1997 anime Cuuka Ichiban to get another two seasons in 2019 and 2021.

Demographics are things like age groups, professions, income brackets, country/state, region (urban/rural) and so on.

To give an example, are cooking anime for 20-30 year old single men living in an apartment in a big city or are they for 30-50 year old married women with children living in the countryside?

Who are these people that enjoy watching anime about cooking various dishes?

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  • Is TQQ (kinda) a cooking anime?
    – BCLC
    Nov 8, 2022 at 15:09

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This depends on what you mean by "demographic". In general, the demographic is "anime watchers who like to cook or watch content related to cooking." There are dozens of YouTube channels that are exclusively videos of people cooking, or cooking competitions, and have millions upon millions of viewers. Shows like Iron Chef, Kitchen Nightmares, The Great British Baking show are incredibly popular. There is, of course, going to be a large subset of people who like those channels and shows and are also anime fans. Cooking is an almost universally shared experience; most people have done it. Japan, especially, has a very deep culinary culture with more Michelin starred restaurants than any other country.

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  • I mean demographics like age groups, professions, hobbies, income brackets, country/state, region (urban/rural) and so on. Saying that the watchers of cooking anime are anime fans that like cooking shows is a bit tautological and I already know that cooking shows are popular. But I cook and I play sports, yet I do not enjoy watching sports or cooking shows. So I am wondering about the demographic.
    – Ocean
    Nov 10, 2022 at 12:33
  • @Ocean I think only if there's a survey or study about it. Anecdotally, 20 years ago when I was a middle schooler, I enjoyed watching Cooking Master Boy on TV (AXN Asia), and that's the only cooking anime that I've watched. Fast forward to now, I don't watch/read cooking anime/manga anymore, whether realistic or fantasy cooking. I don't cook and I still can't though.
    – Aki Tanaka ♦
    Nov 11, 2022 at 12:54
  • @Ocean I think you may want to edit your question, in that case, to make it more clear as to what you are asking and provide the specifics you provide in your comment.
    – RobR
    Nov 11, 2022 at 15:58
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There is no definitive answer to this question as different cooking anime target different demographics. Some cooking anime, such as Cooking Master Boy, target a younger demographic, while others, such as Yakitate!! Japan, target a more adult demographic. In general, however, most cooking anime target a demographic that enjoys watching people cook and learn about different cuisines.

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  • Yakitate Japan is actually for boys aged 9 to 16 and not for adults. It was released in the same magazine as Chuuka Ichiban and is for the same target audience. Yakitate Japan uses the Ganbatte formulae and the cooking is just the theme of that type of story. It plays out like other Ganbatte types of anime, like Kaleido Star or Dragon Ball.
    – Ocean
    Mar 16 at 12:29

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